Crist Makes Break With GOP

By

Valerie Bauerlein And

Peter Wallsten

Updated April 30, 2010 12:01 a.m. ET

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Florida Gov. Charlie Crist formally launched his bid for a U.S. Senate seat as an independent candidate Thursday evening, abandoning the Republican primary and casting himself as the outsider in a "broken" political system.

Appearing before hundreds of supporters at a waterfront park in his hometown, Mr. Crist said that voters "want someone who is more concerned with standing up for them than standing up for special interest groups or party."

"People have a right to choose," he said in his brief remarks, which were carried live on national cable television. Then, appearing to take aim both at party leaders and the GOP's tea party movement that had criticized him as too liberal, Mr. Crist added: "It's your decision. It's not one club's decision, or another's. Or a club within a club."

Mr. Crist's decision transforms one of the most closely watched U.S. Senate races, and sets up a prominent test of how the GOP remakes itself following major losses over the past four years. The party must determine whether it can retake the majority by nominating candidates with purely conservative views, or whether it should make room for centrists like Mr. Crist, who was a top target of conservative activists for his support of President Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan.

ENLARGE

Mr. Crist announces that he will run as an independent for the Senate during a news conference in St. Petersburg.
Reuters

It's not clear whether Mr. Crist could win the three-way race, in which his opponent for the Republican nomination, Marco Rubio, had been favored in both the primary and the general election against the likely Democratic nominee, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek.

Mr. Crist immediately lost top aides, including his pollster, campaign manager and spokeswoman, and will be forced to rebuild his campaign from the ground up. The Thursday event was run largely by volunteers without the professional handlers who typically stage political events.

But he remains relatively popular in the state, and on Thursday signaled that he intends to vie for some of the state's core Democratic constituencies, listing past decisions that angered Republicans.

He referred to his recent veto of a Republican-backed teacher merit pay bill, which has prompted the traditionally Democratic-leaning state teachers union to air pro-Crist ads thanking him. And he pointed to his opposition to offshore oil drilling, popular with environmentalists, and his 2008 decision to allow state polling places to remain open to accommodate long lines in heavily Democratic precincts, which was popular with black voters.

Mr. Crist has been relatively popular with black and Hispanic voters in the state, giving him entrée into key base groups for his rivals. Mr. Rubio is Cuban-American and Mr. Meek is black.

Now that it is possible to win the race with less than 50% of the vote, each campaign is expected to revamp its playbook.

"There's now a path to winning for each one of the three, and until a few days ago, there was probably only a path for the Republican nominee," said John Weaver, a GOP strategist.

In going independent, Mr. Crist becomes the first major third-party candidate since Jesse Ventura was elected Minnesota governor in 1998 to face two viable party-backed opponents. Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, who ran as an independent in 2006 after losing the Democratic primary, had only token Republican opposition, and some in the establishment ranks of both parties supported his campaign.

Mr. Crist, who will run as "no party affiliation," will have no established machinery to help him, and is likely, in fact, to be attacked by both sides.

His onetime supporter, Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas), chairman of the party's Senate campaign committee, told reporters Wednesday that he expects many Republican donors to demand refunds from Mr. Crist. As of March 31, Mr. Crist had raised $10.1 million and had $7.6 million in the bank.

The Senate's GOP leadership issued a stern joint statement saying that Mr. Crist had sought their support as a Republican, but had gone back on his word. "Elections are about trust, and frankly, it is unclear whether Gov. Crist deserves any," they said.

John Morgan, an Orlando-area trial lawyer and Democrat who has been raising money for Mr. Crist, said the governor would host a major fund-raiser Sunday night in Miami. He said most of Mr. Crist's state fund-raisers would attend and stick with the governor.

Mr. Rubio said in an interview that he would not waver on the conservative stances he has taken during the campaign. "Both Kendrick Meek and Charlie Crist are supporters of the Obama agenda," he said. "I just didn't realize I would have to run against both of them at the same time."

In a memo to backers Thursday, Mr. Meek's campaign asserted that the Democratic contender "is in a commanding position" to win a three-way race. Mr. Meek needs to win 75% of the registered Democratic vote and 17% of the independent vote to amass a potentially winning 35% of the total vote, the memo explained, calling that outcome "eminently achievable."

The Crist, announcement, however, complicates Mr. Meek's relationship with one of his key constituencies.

The Florida Education Association, the teachers union with 140,000 members airing the pro-Crist ads, endorsed Mr. Meek in the Democratic primary and has long supported him because of his championing of a class-size reduction initiative. "We have a difficult decision to make," said FEA President Andy Ford in an interview. The teachers' union and the AFL-CIO expect to endorse candidates in late May.

Supporters of Mr. Crist at Thursday evening's rally cheered his announcement, waving homemade signs with slogans such as, "I didn't leave the Republican Party, the Republican Party left me."

Deveron Gibbons, a Republican who narrowly lost a recent primary race for mayor of St. Petersburg, said he came to support his longtime friend. Mr. Crist's departure is "horrible for the party," he said.

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